


After Greenwoods

by Dartxni



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, F/F, Homophobia, Incest, Internalized Homophobia, Underage - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-22
Updated: 2014-01-29
Packaged: 2018-01-09 15:39:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1147718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dartxni/pseuds/Dartxni
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>19 year old Elsa suffers from internalized homophobia and self hate due to 4 years in conversion therapy. When her 16 year old sister runs away from home and shows up on her doorstep after her parents threaten to send her to the same place, Elsa struggles with her feelings for her sister and with her beliefs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First off, read the tags and take heed of them. 
> 
> Second, I do not have direct knowledge of what it is like to grow up Christian (and I know there are many flavors of Christian and many of them are great.) 
> 
> My main inspiration for what Elsa may have gone through is the excellent coming of age novel, “The Miseducation of Cameron Post.” I also borrowed details from the trailer of “Kidnapped for Christ” and a decade of being far too obsessed with the ex-gay experience. 
> 
> This story is going to involve a 19 year old and a 16 year old, and may involve sexual situations. I do not personally believe it is a great idea for 19 year olds to have sex with 16 year olds, though I don't think it's inherently wrong that they would want to. Oh, and in an ideal world, Elsa would be in therapy. Am I going to get her some therapy? Probably not.

Elsa finished drying the last of the dishes about 30 minutes after closing time. Kristoff, her manager, leaned against the wall and eyed her.

“You know, you could be a waitress at any time. You’d make a lot more money in tips that way. In fact, I would way prefer it if you became a waitress. You would totally bring in customers.”

Elsa shrunk a little at that. She knew he was trying to be complimentary but she wasn’t at all comfortable getting complimented on her looks. She tended to wear a regular t-shirt over a long sleeved t-shirt for a reason.

“Me? Oh, you know I’m not loud enough to be a waitress.” It was her usual excuse.

“Speak up! You’re too quiet!” he quipped in his usual brash way, cupping his hand to his ears.

She smiled. “It’s not happening. At least not right now.” She took off her apron and hung it on a hook, then punched out on her time card. Kristoff did the same.

“Shall I walk you home?” he asked casually.

“No. I’m good.”

Elsa took her leave of him. Kristoff was her same age, 19 years old, but he’d been working here since he was 16. Everyone liked him and his easy going managerial style. Elsa thought he might be interested in her, which was why she’d always gently rebuffed his attempts at friendship. She didn’t want him to find out that she was incapable of meaningful relationships.

She stuck her hands in her pockets, pulled her hood up over her bun and walked home. Her apartment was up two flights of stairs, which always seemed like a bit of pain at the end of an 8 hour shift at the diner.

At the top of the stairs, sitting in front of her room was another hooded figure. The figure was nodding to tune coming out of its earbuds, but as Elsa crested the top stair, she looked up. It was her sister.

“Anna? What are you doing here?” asked Elsa.

“I ran away from home,” said Anna, matter-of-factly. “It’s fucking cold out here. Are you going to let me in?”

“Please don’t cuss,” said Elsa as she fished her keys out of her pocket and unlocked the door. _Cussing profanes the mouth_. Anna pushed past her and walked into the apartment.

“Well... at least it’s clean.”

Elsa tried to view the apartment from her sister’s eyes. It was a small one room apartment, which was all she could afford. The walls were white with blue trim. Her bed was made in the corner under the only window. There was a desk with a relatively ancient mac sitting on it. The kitchenette took up one wall, and there was a table that also worked as her counter space. There were no decorations other than some some cut irises sitting in a vase in front of the window. The flowers were a little bit wilted. She needed to replace them.

“I like it clean.”

Her sister nodded. “Ok, I can work with that.”

“Wait... what are you doing here, Anna? You ran away from home? Are you crazy?” She fished her phone out of her bag and started dialing. “I’m calling mom.”

“No wait! Don’t!” her sister yelled, running over and physically tearing the phone out of Elsa’s hands. Elsa let her take it, not wanting to get into a scuffling match that would would have her touching Anna for too long.

“Why did you run away, Anna? And why on earth did you come here?” Elsa demanded, crossing her arms. She hadn't seen Anna in about 5 years. She had wanted to protect her from her filth.

Anna pushed her hair, which was dyed an eye-catching red, out of her face, and stood on one leg. “They were going to send me to Greenwoods.”

“Why?” asked Elsa, dread pooling in her stomach.

“Because I’m bi,” her sister’s response was blythe, not giving the statement any of the weight it required. “Oh my god, Elsa, I never knew you were even at an Ex-Gay camp. I thought you were at boarding school.”

Elsa turned away from Anna, hating the fact that she now knew her secret.

“Well, I kinda was. They do have classes there. School is mandatory.”

“Anyway, that’s why you can’t call mom. You need to help me stay out of there. I’ve heard people say it fucks you for life.”

Elsa shrugged. “It wasn't that bad.”

Her sister squinted at her, not sure if she should take that statement at face value or not.

“So I can stay here right? You won’t send me back?”

“Of course I am sending you back. Do you realize how much trouble I could get into if I let you stay here?”

“But...I thought. I mean... you are a lesbian, right?”

“...Yes.” she hunched over. Four years in the program hadn’t fixed her. There was something fundamentally wrong with her that kept her from being able to form committed, healthy relationships with men.

“So you understand why you can’t send me home, right? It would be a nightmare.”

Elsa still vividly remembered what it had been like when they took her to the school. Two unfamiliar men had come into her room, shouting legalese at her that she had been placed under their care _in loco parentis_. They had grabbed her hand and started dragging her out of the room with hardly any further explanation. Scared, she had struggled, and they had held her down and tied her hands behind her back with zip ties.

She had begged and screamed for her parents to help her, but they had stood by, saying nothing. Her father had been comforting her mother. Her last sight of them had been of them signing papers. Her sister had been away at a sleep-over at the time, and she had pleaded to be allowed to say goodbye, but they had shoved her into the van without listening. It _had_ been a nightmare. She still woke up crying out for her dad to _please_ help her sometimes.

“You can spend the night. I’ll decide what to do with you tomorrow.”

Elsa wasn't prepared for Anna to throw herself at her, hugging her firmly. She didn't know what to do with her arms. She touched Anna’s back hesitantly before dropping her hands and letting them hang limply. Anna didn't seem to care, she just laid her head on Elsa’s shoulder and squeezed. This was the first time Elsa had touched her sister in 5 years, and she didn't want it to end. But _part of having healthy relationships is maintaining firm boundaries_. She extricated herself and put some distance between them, going to pull out her extra blanket and a clean sheet, which she spread on the carpeted floor next to her bed.

“You can have the bed,” she told Anna.

“Oh no, I don’t want to put you out,” said Anna, though the way she patted the bed cover made Elsa think she was just trying to be polite.

“You are the guest. Take the bed.”

Anna spun around to lay on the bed on her stomach, pushing her chin up with her hands to and pouting her lips in expression that Elsa could only take to be jokingly flirtatious. “We could share. Like we used to do when we were kids.”

“No.”

Elsa took her pajamas with her into the bathroom to change, and brushed her teeth. It was almost 12 am, and she was scheduled for a shift that started at 10 tomorrow.

When she came out of the bathroom, she was blindsided by the sight of her sister wearing nothing but her underwear while rummaging through her suitcase. She was only lucky that Anna had her back to her, but she might turn around at any moment. _Have some decency, pervert. Turn around._ She had no self control. She had never had any self control.

When Elsa was 14 years old, she had rolled over in the bed that she and Anna were sharing in a ‘sleep over’ and kissed Anna on the mouth. It had been brief really, just a smack, hardly different from a kiss on the cheek. She had just wanted to know what what it was like to kiss someone. Anna had only been 11 years old at the time. An innocent little girl who she had...

Her sister had blabbed to their mom.

Elsa had been sent to Greenwoods.

Anna picked up a long tshirt and stood up, turning around far more quickly than Elsa was expecting. Elsa caught the barest flash of breast, including nipple, and squeaked, covering her eyes.

“You just squeeked like you saw a mouse! It’s ok, you can look now."

Elsa opened her eyes and immediately came to the conclusion that her sister was lying about it being ok to look. Anna was wearing a large wide necked t-shirt that hardly covered her. Elsa’s gaze dipped once the mysterious darkness between her thighs. Could she see a glimpse of her underwear? She couldn’t. Elsa’s hand subconsciously went to her wrist to look for a non-existent rubber band. But she had already flunked out of aversion therapy. She self consciously looked away from Anna and climbed into her sparse bedding.

Anna went and did her bathroom things and came out to a darkened room, because Elsa had already hit the lights.

Anna stepped on Elsa a little as she made her way across the room to the bed. Elsa listened to her get into bed, her mind unable to let go of the image of her in nothing but the sleeping shirt and completely false impression it gave that Anna wasn't wearing any underwear at all.

“Elsa?” Anna asked quietly into the darkness after a fair amount of time had passed.

“What Anna?”

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

“Anna, I’m celibate.” At least in practice, although she’d never been able to convince her brain to let go of the fantasy.

“What?”

“I don’t have sex with women. It’s against my religious beliefs.”

Her sister rolled over and hovered over the side of the bed, staring at Elsa. Elsa’s eyes had adjusted well to the dark already, and cavernous neck of the t shirt yawned, close and inviting.  
She closed her eyes.

“Did you really buy into the bullcrap at Greenwoods, Elsa? I looked it up. It's all fucking pseudoscience.”

Elsa didn't speak, feeling somehow ashamed of her beliefs, which honestly shouldn’t be the case. Her method of dealing with her life wasn't the popular one, but it was valid.

“Elsa, I never thought I would ever have to say this to you, but it’s ok to be gay.”

Elsa grimaced. Anna had obviously already taken in a lot of the pro-gay agenda. Eventually her sister stopped bugging her and went to sleep. Elsa stayed awake, feeling so so guilty. It was her fault that Anna was bi. It was obviously because Elsa had kissed her.

Throughout the years she had been at Greenwoods, they had questioned her and questioned her about her past, looking for the event that had twisted her development so that she was attracted to women. She knew that one of the things they had looked for was a moment when she had been sexually abused by someone older than her. Nothing like that had ever happened to her, it seemed that she was just born wrong. But Anna... Her parents had sent her away to keep Anna safe, but in the end it was already too late. Elsa had already messed her up.


	2. Chapter 2

Elsa didn’t sleep well that night. She wasn’t used to sleeping on the carpet, and her single blanket wasn’t enough to really keep her warm. She tossed and turned, a little bit piqued at Anna for putting her out of her bed. Sure, Elsa had volunteered, but that was because she couldn’t just make her sleep on the floor. At some point, she did fall asleep though.

When she woke up, she had the disorientating feeling of being someplace unfamiliar. Her heart raced momentarily at the unreasonable fear that she was back at Greenwoods. Had someone taken her back in the night?

No, she recognized the four familiar walls of her apartment. Which meant... she sat up and peaked at her bed.

Anna was asleep, curled up in the blanket with her face awkwardly smushed into the pillow. Her unnaturally red hair had somehow gone crazy, becoming more like a mane that halloed her face. One streak of her hair was bleached white for some reason or another that Elsa didn’t really get the point of. As if summoned to wakefulness by Elsa’s stare, Anna started to move. She rubbed her face into the pillow, grumbled in some sort of sleep language that wasn’t anything like real English, and curled even more tightly around the blankets. Then she sighed and relaxed, opening blurry eyes. As soon as she saw Elsa she smiled broadly and reached out clumsily to swat at Elsa’s shoulder as if checking to see if she was real.

“You’re actually here. This is going to be a good day.”

Elsa wanted, in that moment, to fall upon Anna and just hug her to death. But even though she ached to just squeeze her close, she held back. The way Elsa wanted to behave around girls was wrong, she always wanted to be too affectionate, too close. She knew she was disordered in the extreme but it was hard because she just wanted to hug her sister. And Anna probably wouldn’t even notice anything amiss because that was the thing. It wasn’t wrong to hug her sister. But it was wrong to need it so much.

 

 

> * * *
> 
>   
>  The girl has issues regarding the proper methods of expressing affectionate feelings, especially toward other females. This is related to her general prognosis of Same Sex Attachment Disorder. Further behavior therapy is suggested, of the following kinds:
> 
>   * that her interaction with other girls remain chaperoned
>   * that overly friendly actions on her part be quickly reprimanded
>   * that “free time” privileges remain revoked
> 

> 
> * * *
> 
>  

Elsa stood up abruptly, deciding that the best thing to do would be to get some distance. Her foot tangled in her own bedding, causing her to land hard on her tailbone. Ouch!

Anna hurried out of bed after her.

“Well, that was graceful,” she teased, offering a hand.  
  
Elsa saw Anna’s bare legs and quickly looked away, getting up from the ground on her own and rubbing her spine.

Anna withdrew her arm and frowned.

“I was just joking with you,” she explained. “Are you ok?”

“Sorry, I’m a little bit tired. I didn’t sleep all that great.”

“You should have slept on the bed. Seriously, it’s your bed.”

Elsa shrugged uncomfortably. She looked at her phone for the time and sighed.

“I got to leave for work in about 45 minutes. I think it would be best if you came with me, better than leaving you alone, at least. I work at a diner, and I can buy you lunch if you want.” That reminded her that if Anna remained here too long it might really impact her bank account. God, just one more thing to worry about.

“Umm, my shift is 6 hours long today. Do you have something you can do?”

Her sister nodded.

“I brought my laptop in my backpack and I have a week’s worth of homework to do. I told my teachers that I was going to a funeral.” She giggled.

“They believed you?”

“Well... maybe? They gave me a bunch of work to do which I am glad about. I don’t want to fall behind. I actually get pretty good grades.” She covered her mouth with her hand, but her boastful smile peaked out anyway.

“That’s really great Anna.” Elsa said smiling. But then she frowned. “The education at Greenwoods wasn’t very good. They give you these packets but they hardly expect you to finish them and if you have trouble they just supply the answer. They were more interested in making sure that everyone passed than actually caring if we learned anything. I’m... really bad at math because there weren’t any good teachers for that subject. It really bothers me,” Elsa explained. _Don’t tell her that, she will think her older sister is ignorant._

“That sucks!” Anna exclaimed. “Oh my god. And mom and dad sent you there? I get madder and madder every time I hear about it. If I had known I would have come and gotten you out.”

“My knight in shining armor then?”

Elsa liked the image of Anna swooping in to rescue her. She remembered the many many times when she had wanted to be rescued. Not that Anna would have actually been able to help, but... it would have been nice to know at the time that she cared enough to try.

The walk to her work would take around 30 minutes. Elsa asked Anna if she would rather take the bus, but Anna declined. It was a nice day afterall. About 10 minutes in, she noticed that Anna’s heavy backpack full of textbooks and her computer seemed to be weighing her down and lifted it off Anna’s back.

“Oh, thanks!” Anna said. She tucked her arm into the crook of Elsa’s elbow and leaned her head against Elsa’s shoulder, leading Elsa to wonder if it was appropriate to walk like that. As Anna tugged her forward she decided it might be ok. Anna had been upset when she’d rebuffed her that morning. She should at least pretend to be normal. It was also... nice to walk like this, even if she couldn’t let herself relax and think it was ok to be less guarded all of the time.

“Hey! Elsa, is that you?” Kristoff yelled.

Elsa turned around, quickly dropping her sister’s arm. Kristoff ran to catch up with them.

“I thought it was you! Are you Elsa’s girlfriend?” he asked Anna.

Anna snaked arm around Elsa’s again, this time taking her hand in her own and kissing her knuckle. “Yeah, I’m her sweetheart.”

Elsa tugged herself away and scowled at Anna. She knew Anna was just trying to be funny and plain did not know why Elsa would get bothered by it. But still.. “She’s not my girlfriend. She’s my sister. Why on earth would you think she was my girlfriend?” she asked Kristoff, eyes narrowed.

_Could he tell?_

Kristoff shrugged, “I dunno. I didn’t know you had a sister.” He stuck out his hand toward Anna. “I’m Kristoff, by the way. I’m her boss.”

Anna took it and shook it vigorously. “I’m Anna, and yeah, actually I’m just her sister.”

Kristoff winked knowingly. “I don’t judge.”

 

In the kitchen as Kristoff passed her on his way to pick up an order, she hissed at him. “Why did you think she was my girlfriend?”

Kristoff was too busy to answer her, but as he whisked passed a minute later he said, “I dunno, I just got the impression that you didn’t dig guys.”

Elsa paused at the sink, looking down at the water. Kristoff touched her shoulder and she flinched.

“No offense meant. It doesn’t matter to me if you are gay, straight or even into snowmen. I am pretty easy going. ”

Elsa nodded and went back to doing the dishes.

 

At lunch Elsa took a break to eat with her sister. She was surprised when Kristoff sat down next to her with his own burger and fries. Apparently he had decided they were friends or something.

“So...why are you here and not in school?” he asked Anna.

“I ran away from home because my parents were going to send me to a gay rehab for being bisexual.”

“Anna!” Elsa hissed. Why did she have to air their dirty laundry?

“Elsa, you can’t let them do that.” Kristoff said seriously. Anna looked overjoyed to have found a supporter.

“Elsa wants to send me back to my parents. She doesn’t want to get in trooouble,” she drew out the vowels of the last word in a sing-song way, reminding Elsa that her sister could be really annoying sometimes.

Kristoff considered. “Well, that makes sense. She really could get in a lot of trouble for harboring a runaway. But Elsa... you can’t let them just put your sister in one of those brainwashing places.”

“Elsa’s already been brainwashed,” Anna grumbled.

“I have not been brainwashed. Just because I have different opinions from you does NOT mean that they are invalid. You don’t know anything about my life. So, excuse me, can I get out?” she said to Kristoff. Kristoff obliged her by moving out of the booth.

Elsa grabbed her bag and started walking out of the restaurant. She needed to take a breather and not burst into tears front of everyone, as she was liable to do when upset, and sort of hated about herself. She was leaning against the wall on the side of the diner and almost fully in control again when she heard someone approach.

It was Anna. She hesitated, and then took a deep breath.

“You are right... I don’t know anything about your life. I haven’t seen you for 5 years. I thought... I thought you just weren’t interested in talking to me, and that was why you never ever called or wrote or anything, even when you moved to a city only an hour away from home. So when I found out the truth, that you had been at Greenwoods and not at a posh boarding school in Sweden...”

Elsa smiled grimly. So that was how her parents had excused her absence.

“I was so happy. Not that you had been there, but that it meant that maybe you didn’t hate me.”

“Of course I don’t hate you, Anna. I love you.” Elsa said, rubbing her arm. “And I am going to do whatever it takes to keep you out of Greenwoods, because you don’t deserve to go there.”

“Oh good.” Elsa huffed as Anna tackled her in a hug. “Thank you. I was so worried you were going to send me home.”

Elsa was glad Anna had her laptop with her to keep her busy, because her shift did not end till 6. She was surprised when she felt her phone buzzing in her pocket at around 5:30. She wiped her soapy hands and ditched out the kitchen’s side door to the alley. Her heart sank when she realized that it was her parents home phone number. She let it go to voicemail. But when it rang again, she answered it. If she didn’t, well her parents knew where she lived. If they suspected Anna was here, they would come for her.

“Hello dad. You don’t usually call. What is going on?”

“Where is she?” her dad cut right to the chase.

“Where is who?” she asked, attempting to stall him.

“Anna! She’s gone missing. If she is with you... I just... I need to know she is ok.” Her dad sounded so worried.

Elsa couldn’t help it. “She’s ok.”

“Good,” said her dad. “I’m on my way. I’ll be there soon.” He hung up on her.

“Shoot,” Elsa near cussed. She went to get Anna and explained the situation to her.

Kristoff overheard them.

“I am coming with you.”

Elsa would have complained, but she suspected that having a large strapping fellow like Kristoff on their side might help her stand up against her dad. He whisked away to call the backup shift manager, explaining that there was a personal emergency he had to deal with.

By the time they arrived at her apartment, her dad’s car was there and so was a van that Elsa recognized. Her stomach sank.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to Ckydder, who sat by me for a tireless hour and a half beta-ing this chapter. All mistakes are mine.
> 
> And also to Trystia and Istalir and whoever else has gotten to listen to me meta this fic. I look forward to our impromptu Elsanna writer's circle and general Elsanna discussion every day. *warm hugs*

Elsa couldn’t help but think of them as the Greenwood Thugs. Tall men with football player physiques and muttonchops; the main thing that told them apart was that one also had a mustache. Gregor and Otto were security at Greenwoods. If someone tried to run away, most of the time they would be carried back by these guys. Otto was the mean one, even though Gregor was taller. She thought he might be a hunter in his spare time, by the way he always seemed so enthused to get to get a chance to chase someone. Otto and Gregor were the same men who took her from her house when she was 14, and every time she had seen them since it had made her sweat and want to hide. 

They were leaning against their van. When they saw Elsa, they nodded at her. She didn't nod back.

“Anna, I am so glad you are ok,” was the first thing her dad said when he saw them.

He stepped toward Anna with his arms outstretched. Anna clutched onto Elsa’s hand and retreated a little behind her. Elsa could see that it made her dad stiffen, but Elsa tightened her grip reassuringly.

“Hello dad.” Elsa said. She watched his lips firm into an involuntary grimace and steeled herself as usual against the ongoing hurt of his rejection. He looked older than he used to. _Well, that made sense._ It had been 5 years since she last saw him. He had never visited her on visitation days though her mom had managed to make the time somehow. Her dad’s hair was a lot lighter than it used to be, more blond than strawberry. The weirdest thing though was that he had shaved off his moustache which, well... Elsa had never seen him without. She guessed her mom had finally gotten her way then.

“Elsa, you need to make your sister come back with us.”

“Are you really sending her to Greenwoods, dad?”

“It’s for the best. She can get the help she needs there.”

“Dad, please reconsider. Anna is a good girl. There is nothing wrong with her.”

“Elsa, the fact that she ran away from home proves that she needs some sort of guidance that I am not able to give her. How can I stop her from running away again?”

“By trusting her, dad.” Elsa explained. “You have got to trust her to make good decisions.”

“Look at her hair!”

Anna pushed her a curl of her brightly dyed bangs back and tucked it behind her ear. Elsa squeezed her hand again.

“So? It’s just hair.”

“I don’t know what she told you, but she has been running around with some crazy people. Greenwoods helped you Elsa, and it can help her too.”

“Is that what you think? Greenwoods was a terrible experience. I was so isolated all the time. They constantly watched everything I did, and they punished people for stupid stuff like having a CD player in their room. Do you wonder why I never call you, why I asked you not to come to my graduation? Because I feel so betrayed that you sent me to that place, and that you stood by while THOSE MEN dragged a crying girl from her room and put her in a van without even explaining where they were going.”

This is the first time Elsa had ever really articulated, even just to herself, how much she had hated being at Greenwoods. She didn’t like to think about it because it made her realize how much of her last 4 years had been a complete waste.

“Elsa... you know why I sent you there. And you know why I can’t have my daughter staying around you. Anna... get in the van. Now.”

Elsa could tell he didn’t want to mention why he distrusted Elsa out loud. They had never spoken on the subject of why he had sent her to the rehab school. The first couple times Elsa had been allowed to call home, she had tearfully apologized about kissing Anna, promising never to do it again. Each time, he had hung up on her. Eventually she got the message. He didn’t want to think about it because she disgusted him.

“I am not going to go,” Anna said. “You think sending me to Greenwoods is going to make me straight? Because you don’t really care about my hair or my friends, all you care about is that your daughter is queer and you can’t handle having any of your friends know about it. Well, Elsa isn’t straight, dad. She is still gay. The only thing Greenwoods did for Elsa was make her hate herself, and that’s really sad.”

Elsa saw the moment her dad stopped seeing her as a potential ally and started seeing Elsa as the enemy. Why couldn't Anna have kept that to herself? This shouldn’t have been about Elsa at all.

“What have you been doing to your sister. Have you touched her?” her dad demanned angrily.

“Nothing. I have done nothing to her.” Elsa assured him, but he continued to look horrified.

“Look, Mr. Isborg, we can handle this.” Otto said. Gregor nodded and stretched his arms above his head, inducing an audible crack.

“Don’t you go near my sister.” Elsa said, stepping more directly in front of Anna.

Otto laughed. “I can still pick you up and sling you over my shoulder, Elsa. Now don’t make trouble.”

“I won’t go.”

Elsa felt Anna let go of her hand. She turned around and saw that Anna had started running down the sidewalk. Gregor broke right and Otto broke left, passing Elsa on either side of her, catching Anna within half a block. Otto swept Anna up over his shoulder, which was his favorite move to do to the girls who were having freakouts at Greenwoods.

“Don’t hurt her,” cried Elsa’s Dad. He back and forth hesitantly as if he couldn’t make up his mind about what to do.

“Stop it!” shouted Elsa. She tried to pull Anna out of the men’s grip, but was uselessly buffeted away as the two men carried Anna, who was struggling frantically to worm her way out of their grip toward the open door of the van.

“Stop it! Let me go! Please, let me go! Help me!”

It was Elsa’s worst fear realized to hear her sister screaming the same words she had once screamed at her father.

Kristoff had been watching all this with alarm. Now he pushed his cell phone into Elsa’s hand. “I’ve dialed 911. When they get on the line, explain that people are trying to kidnap your sister.” His voice was firm, and it’s steadiness helped Elsa concentrate. He was already around the side of the van before she had time to respond.

“Hello, What is your emergency?” the voice over the phone spoke in her ear.

“It’s my sister... She is being kidnapped right now from in front of my apartment by two men in a van, please send someone here.” Elsa left out the bit about her father being present. She needed someone with authority to come and make this not happen.

“Where are you?”

She gave the woman her address. “I need to hang up. Otherwise they might realize I called you, and I don’t know what they would do.”

“If you can stay on the line, that would be best, ma’am. Could you hide your phone in your pocket?”

Elsa stuffed the phone into her pocket.

The door of the van clanged shut and Elsa pressed her face up against the window to see Anna futilely try the door handle. It seemed to be child locked.

“I’m getting you out of there! Don’t worry!” Elsa said, yelling so that Anna could hear her.

Gregor and Otto climbed into the van, ready to start what Elsa remembered as a hellish 5 day drive to Georgia, the location of Greenwoods Reform Institute. Elsa stepped in front of the van. She refused to let them leave before the police arrived and hopefully put a stop to this. She saw Kristoff toss something in the bushes. When she frowned at him, he winked. Through the dashboard Otto and Gregor seemed to be arguing about something.

Otto climbed out of the van. “Where are the keys?”, he demanded from Elsa.

“Why would I know?” asked Elsa.

“I left them in the van. They are not there anymore. Somebody took them.”

Elsa didn’t need to respond, because that was when she heard the sirens.


End file.
